Liverpool’s Manu Kone transfer hopes boosted as Jorg Schmadtke’s son lands role

Liverpool’s hopes of signing Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Manu Kone have been bolstered after newly-appointed sporting director Jorg Schmadtke’s son landed a similar role with the Bundesliga club. It’s understood Nils Schmadtke is set to return to Gladbach, where he previously worked as a scout between April 2019 and May 2020, to strengthen their off-field structure this summer.

Liverpool are actively shopping for midfield reinforcements and have identified 22-year-old Frenchman Kone as one of their targets alongside Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister.

Talks have already been opened with his representatives and it’s believed Kone could be available for between £25million and £30m after two seasons in Germany.

Now Kicker are reporting that Nils Schmadtke is set to be instilled as a director at Gladbach, where he could come to the aid of both Liverpool and his father Jorg in the transfer market.

Nils Schmadtke also has a wealth of experience working within German football having recently managed Wolfsburg’s scouting department.

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He has also spent time at Koln before recently rejecting the chance to take over as sporting director at Arminia Bielefeld.

Liverpool are yet to open talks with Gladbach over a deal for Kone but the box-to-box midfielder is held in high regard by Jurgen Klopp, who wants to sign three midfielders this summer.

Chelsea are also tracking Kone but are thought to be prioritising moves for Sporting’s Manuel Ugarte and Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.

Jorg Schmadtke has signed a short-term contract after replacing Julian Ward at Anfield following his decision to step down at the end of the season, a call that was communicated by the club in November.

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The 59-year-old German has a network of contacts across Europe having spent almost five years operating as Wolfsburg’s sporting director.

His arrival at Liverpool is likely to spark early transfer activity and there is cautious optimism a deal for Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister could be closed as soon as next week when the World Cup winner returns to the UK.

Mac Allister was reduced to tears after playing what is likely to be his final outing for Albion in the 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on the final day of the Premier League season.

Following the completion of the campaign, the 24-year-old technician then flew to Como in Italy after helping Brighton secure Europa League qualification to attend the wedding of Argentina team-mate Lautaro Martinez.

He has since embarked on his holidays, flying to Miami to unwind after a long, gruelling season that saw him make 40 appearances in all competitions for the Seagulls, netting 12 goals.

Liverpool are also thought to hold an interest in Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram, who was recently named in the Ligue 1 Team of The Season following his eye-catching displays for Les Aiglons.

The Reds are striving to replace James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain this summer with the midfield trio all set to depart Anfield on free transfers when their current contracts expire in June.

Fabio Carvalho could yet follow his team-mates out the exit door after just one year on Merseyside with his future currently unclear after RB Leipzig saw an opening bid rejected for the former Fulham playmaker.

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